Who Owns Daihatsu & Where Are Its Mini Trucks Manufactured?

If you are round kei automobiles and kei vehicles sufficient, you’ll have undoubtedly seen a Daihatsu of some taste, with speedy little trucks like the HiJet being widespread each in its house market and within the States as a cool little import. Modern-day Daihatsu, nonetheless, does not function within the United States and actually solely sells new automobiles, vehicles, and SUVs in Japan, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Even then, nearly all of its Malaysian and Indonesian market consists of non-kei crossovers and sedans.

Daihatsu’s restricted market is actually uncommon in a planet the place nearly each automaker has a worldwide presence. The firm did not tackle the “Daihatsu” identify till 1951, and may hint its origins to Hatsudoki Seizo Co., Ltd., an engine producer established in 1907. In 1998, Toyota purchased a majority stake within the firm and finally turned the only proprietor in 2016, turning Daihatsu into one of the many car brands it owns.

Given the corporate’s Japanese roots, it is no marvel that three of Daihatsu’s main crops are in Japan as effectively. It has two crops in Oita Prefecture, plus one in Fukuoka. The HiJet vehicles, vans, and utility automobiles that everyone knows and love are assembled within the Oita crops. 

HiJets of all sizes and styles are assembled within the Oita crops, which deal with the entire stamping, inside meeting, welding, and portray. The engines, nonetheless, begin life on the Fukuoka manufacturing unit (additionally known as the Karume Plant). This is the place all of the casting and machining that go into engine manufacturing happen. Despite solely having a handful of home crops, the corporate nonetheless constructed a powerful 534,969 mini-vehicles for the Japanese market in 2025. Toyota’s monetary and logistical backing might, in fact, play an element on this effectivity.

The Daihatsu HiJet, most just lately up to date in June 2026, is on the market with both a guide transmission or a CVT, as a turbocharged or naturally aspirated mannequin, and in rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive — it is actually a versatile car for a big selection of purposes. Daihatsu’s Japanese factories solely construct home automobiles, and the automaker’s Malaysian and Indonesian efforts are served by factories in these nations.